João Félix Sequeira ( ZHWOWN FEH-liks; Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w ˈfɛliks]; born 10 November 1999) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr and the Portugal national team.
Félix initially trained at Porto's youth academy, before moving to rivals Benfica in 2015. He began playing for the latter's reserve team a year later and was promoted to the first team in 2018, making his debut at age 17. He helped Benfica win the league title in his first and only season with them. In 2019, at age 19, Félix signed with Atlético Madrid for a club-record transfer worth €126 million (£113 million), the fourth-most expensive football transfer. With Atlético, he won the 2020–21 La Liga and over the following years, he had loan spells with Chelsea and Barcelona, before rejoining Chelsea permanently in 2024. After a brief loan spell with AC Milan, Félix joined Al-Nassr in 2025, helping them win the Saudi Pro League title and being named the league's Player of the Season in his first year.
Félix is a former Portugal youth international, representing his country at under-18, under-19, and under-21 levels. He earned his first senior cap in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, winning the inaugural edition of the competition on home soil. He went on to represent his country at two UEFA European Championships (2020 and 2024) and two FIFA World Cups (2022 and 2026), and also won a second international trophy at the 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals.
Félix started playing football at Os Pestinhas in 2007 before joining the youth ranks of FC Porto a year later at age eight. After Félix moved to Porto, he faced challenges such as extensive schedules including daily shuttle hours between Viseu and Porto. He moved out of his parents' house at age 12 to live near Porto's youth training grounds; in a later interview, Félix revealed that during this time he considered quitting football due to the lack of playing time, but his father convinced him to pursue his career. Félix was released by Porto in 2014 because of his slight frame (he denied these claims and said he left of his own volition) and moved to Lisbon rivals Benfica in 2015, at age 15, after a season-long loan at Padroense.
Félix debuted professionally at age 16 for Benfica's reserve team in LigaPro on 17 September 2016, as an 83rd-minute substitute for Aurélio Buta in a goalless draw at Freamunde. At the time, he was the youngest player to debut for Benfica B, a record since been broken by Cher Ndour in May 2021. He played 13 matches and scored three goals over the season, the first being a consolation in a 2–1 loss to his hometown team Académico de Viseu on 15 February 2017. Later, on 30 January 2018, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 home win over Famalicão. During that season, Félix played in the 2016–17 UEFA Youth League, in which he was a key part of Benfica reaching the final of the competition, which it lost to Red Bull Salzburg (2–1), scoring six goals in the tournament.
2018–19: Rise to the first team and league title
Félix was promoted to Benfica's first team for the 2018–19 season, making his debut in a 2–0 Primeira Liga win at Boavista on 18 August. A week later, he scored his first Primeira Liga goal, thus becoming the youngest player to score in the Lisbon derby, which ended in a 1–1 tie. On 16 January 2019, he scored the qualifying goal against Vitória de Guimarães in the Portuguese Cup quarter-finals.
After Bruno Lage took over as coach of Benfica, his first decision was to use Félix more regularly, partnering him with Haris Seferovic in the attack, taking advantage of the bad run of Facundo Ferreyra and Nicolás Castillo and the injury of Jonas. Later on, Félix was praised for his performance in a 4–2 away win over Sporting CP in the league on 3 February, subsequently sparking interest from several European clubs. A month later, he scored the equaliser in a 2–1 away comeback win over Porto in the O Clássico, allowing his side to overtake their rivals at the top of the Primeira Liga table.
On 11 April 2019, Félix scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 UEFA Europa League win over Eintracht Frankfurt. In doing so, he became the youngest ever player (aged 19 years and 152 days) to score a hat-trick in the competition, breaking Marko Pjaca's record by 67 days. Félix finished his first season with 20 goals for his team, including one on the final day of the league campaign, in a 4–1 win over Santa Clara to seal the title; his 15 league goals put him joint-fourth for the season. Across Europe's seven best leagues, he ranked second among teenagers for goals and assists, behind Kai Havertz and Jadon Sancho, respectively.
On 3 July 2019, Félix signed a seven-year contract with Spanish club Atlético Madrid for a transfer fee of €126 million (£113 million), the fourth highest sum ever paid in football (this was also Benfica's biggest transfer and Atlético's most expensive signing ever) as well as the second highest fee ever paid for a teenager (after Kylian Mbappé), with the Spanish club initially paying €30 million and the rest €96 million via instalments, thus surpassing Félix's €120 million buyout clause, and with Benfica paying €12 million in mediation services. Upon his arrival to the club he was handed the number 7 shirt previously worn by Antoine Griezmann, who had departed to Barcelona.
Félix made his competitive debut on 19 August 2019, in a 1–0 victory over Getafe. Despite not scoring a goal, he managed to win a penalty for Atlético after being fouled inside the box which Álvaro Morata subsequently failed to convert. On 25 August, Félix provided an assist for Vitolo in a 1–0 away win against Leganés. He scored his first La Liga goal on 1 September, in a 3–2 victory over Eibar; he was later substituted in the 84th minute for Thomas Partey. On 1 October, Félix scored his first UEFA Champions League goal and set up another goal in a 2–0 away victory against Lokomotiv Moscow, becoming the youngest goalscorer for Atlético Madrid in the competition in the process, at 19 years of age.
On 19 October, Félix suffered an ankle injury against Valencia, after a rash challenge by Dani Parejo, leaving his team with only ten men on the pitch, as his coach Diego Simeone had already made the maximum number of allowed substitutions. Initially, Simeone thought that Félix's injury was not too serious, until the club's medical team revealed that the ankle injury could be severe, leading him to be sidelined for one month. Félix made his return on 23 November in a 1–1 away draw against Granada. During this time, Félix was one of the 30 candidates who was nominated for the 2019 Ballon d'Or.
On 27 November 2019, Félix became the second Portuguese player, after Renato Sanches, to win the Golden Boy award for the best player in Europe under the age of 21, ahead of Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho. In December, Félix placed 28th place in the voting polls for the 2019 Ballon d'Or.
Over the following months, Félix started to have difficulties in adapting to Diego Simeone's playing style, with Simeone trying to find his ideal position either as a right winger or second striker; he also struggled with the fact that the forwards under Simeone were expected to press their opponents frequently when playing off the ball, which often left him drained during match, while when in possession, he was also unable to create scoring chances, leading Spanish newspaper Marca to name him one of the most disappointing transfers of the season.
On 9 January 2020, Félix made his debut in the Supercopa de España, starting in a 3–2 victory against Barcelona in the semi-finals of the competition. During the match, Félix was involved in an altercation with Jordi Alba and his teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. On 12 January, Atlético Madrid lost to their rivals Real Madrid 4–1 on penalties in the final. On 23 January, Félix made his Copa del Rey debut in the Round of 32, providing an assist for Ángel Correa in a 2–1 loss against Cultural Leonesa. Three days later, Félix suffered a second injury to his leg in a 0–0 home draw against Leganés, sidelining him once again for a month, and leading him to miss to Atlético Madrid's next three league matches, which included the second Madrid derby of the season and Atlético Madrid's first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against defending champions Liverpool. He made his return on 23 February, replacing Vitolo in the 57th minute, and scoring the third goal in a 3–1 home victory against Villarreal.